Tascam 32.... at Last!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rich Smith
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Rich Smith

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Well, tonight I finally brought home a Tascam 32.

I'd actually given up hope of finding one locally. But then this afternoon there it suddenly appeared on Craigslist, at 5:05 PM, after work, Friday night. The asking price was $75.00.

I think I stopped breathing for a little while as I fumbled with the telephone. No luck... left a message. Rats... Got a call back within 20 minutes... Joy!... Found it was only about a 5-minute side-trip on my way home. Really nice owner demonstrated it for me. Everthing works too! And then he appologized because it had one bad hub and suggested that it should be thoughouly cleaned and tuned up. By 7:00 he instisted on carrying it to my car himself. He put it in and patted it lovingly on the top and said: "Good bye old friend".

What a guy. Actually, he must have been an Angel.
He certainly was a Godsend to me.

Rich Smith
 
congrats! It's a nice deck and you got it for a good price. I got mine off Craigslists too.
 
Seattle is not so far away...

Great score! I've really liked the 32 - Actually now that I think about it I have one I've been repairing slowly sitting in the garage.

Do you have manuals, MRL, experience with alignment etc? Lots of help here on AO. How are the heads and guides?

REgards, Ethan
 
Thanks guys. I have no prior experience with 15 ips machines. Just last week I bought a decent Teac 3440 and now this half-track Tascam 32. I’ve never before been able to track on one nice machine... and mix to another nice machine (of my own). What a luxury! But first... Cleaning and Service:

The 32 was very dirty. It may not have been thoroughly cleaned the last time some sticky tape ran through it. Initial head-cleaning shows some wear on all heads, with the erase-head being the worst (seams odd). But they all seem to have significant life left, so I don’t feel pressured to replace them right now. Pinch Roller looks good. Guides all look fine too, but the roller guides could turn more smoothly or with greater precision. I am surprised to find what looks like little-little-tiny specks of rust on the tape-contact round end of the capstan shaft. (Rust on a capstan shaft? Is that possible?)

So on first inspection it appears to need a very thorough and detail cleaning, lubrication, and maybe some washers and shims before I can seriously test the unit. I’m not surprise or annoyed by this and look forward to finding just how much life this beauty has left!

Now on to the hunt for Operating and Service Manuals………..

Thanks again to all!
Rich Smith
(Still grinning!)
 
Congrats!

Please post a close-up pic of the heads and the capstan when you get a chance. I'm especially interested in the erase head... they tend to last forever compared to the rec/play heads. Rust on the capstan is not unheard of, but I would guess it's more likely tape oxide on the 38.

~Tim
:)

Rich Smith said:
Thanks guys. I have no prior experience with 15 ips machines. Just last week I bought a decent Teac 3440 and now this half-track Tascam 32. I’ve never before been able to track on one nice machine... and mix to another nice machine (of my own). What a luxury! But first... Cleaning and Service:

The 32 was very dirty. It may not have been thoroughly cleaned the last time some sticky tape ran through it. Initial head-cleaning shows some wear on all heads, with the erase-head being the worst (seams odd). But they all seem to have significant life left, so I don’t feel pressured to replace them right now. Pinch Roller looks good. Guides all look fine too, but the roller guides could turn more smoothly or with greater precision. I am surprised to find what looks like little-little-tiny specks of rust on the tape-contact round end of the capstan shaft. (Rust on a capstan shaft? Is that possible?)

So on first inspection it appears to need a very thorough and detail cleaning, lubrication, and maybe some washers and shims before I can seriously test the unit. I’m not surprise or annoyed by this and look forward to finding just how much life this beauty has left!

Now on to the hunt for Operating and Service Manuals………..

Thanks again to all!
Rich Smith
(Still grinning!)
Click to expand...
 
What drove me off the '32 was the damper arrangement on the tension arms. It's made from pieces of string and it tends to break. It would be an idea to take the face off the machine and check those are okay.
 
Rich,

I believe I have a .pdf of the full 32 manual...I have 3440 stuff too. Not sure where I got them but they were readily available for free on the web. PM me for what you need.
 
Tim,

I'll try to get photo's. (But my 1.3 pixel kodak may not cooperate, we'll see.)

When I first saw the capstan shaft end I thought it probably just had some reddish tape-oxide on the end. But, my head cleaning solution wasn't getting rid of it all no matter how much I scrubbed with a Q-tip. Then I wondered, could it be rust? But that doesn't make any sense to me either.

The capstan shaft appears to be made of a light alloy. Perhaps the alloy itself has oxidized and pitted a little bit on the surface. The reddish color specks could be old tape-oxide embedded in tiny pits. I don't think it will actually hurt anything. It's just looks strange. It's a mystery to me.

Rich Smith
 
Sweetbeats,

Thanks for offering PDF's of the Manuals!
I do need 'em for the Tascam 32 and will send you a PM right now.

Thanks again to everyone for all your great advice.

Rich Smith
 
I think there is a lot of commonality between the Tascam 22-2, 22-4, 32, 34, and 38. general construction, servicing, transport, tape rollers, belts. I have a 22-2, 22-4 and 38 and they seem very alike in ways. I have manuals for them and if you need parts interchangeability or just have questions, let me know. Good luck, good score and have fun.
 
Wow,

That is a fantastic price. Hate to say what I paid for my 1/2 track.... Congrats
 
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